Conventionally, there is a semiconductor light emitting device configured such that an upper electrode of substantially the same size as that of a semiconductor light emitting layer is provided on the semiconductor light emitting layer, and light generated in the semiconductor light emitting layer immediately under the upper electrode is extracted not only from the upper surface of the semiconductor light emitting layer but from the side surfaces of the semiconductor light emitting layer.
When the size of the semiconductor light emitting layer increases in the semiconductor light emitting device, a propagation distance increases when the light generated in a central portion of the semiconductor light emitting layer immediately under the upper electrode reaches the side surfaces of the semiconductor light emitting layer. As a result, self-absorption of the semiconductor light emitting layer cannot be ignored, and the amount of light extracted from the side surfaces of the semiconductor light emitting layer decreases.
For this reason, the size of the semiconductor light emitting layer is limited, and there is a problem in that a high optical output cannot be obtained. When multiple semiconductor light emitting layers are arranged in a matrix form, a high optical output can be obtained as a whole.
However, in order to avoid reduction of the optical output caused by interference between adjacent semiconductor light emitting layers, it is necessary to ensure a certain distance between the adjacent semiconductor light emitting layers. As a result, there is a problem in that the chip size increases.